


on the grounds of the jedi temple

by audie05



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 01:45:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14533989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audie05/pseuds/audie05
Summary: The wind is biting, and the chill nips unrelentingly at their skin. The fire settled deep into their bones may not be enough.





	on the grounds of the jedi temple

“Stand back!”

Her spit flecked upon the red plasma and sizzled ominously. The smell of burnt electricity filled the air.

She was dangerously close to blacking out. The underside of Ren’s crossguard was tucked under her chin, pressing deep imprints into her neck that were sure to bruise. The other hand not preoccupied with gripping his saber held her head in a vice like grip. A vein throbbed on her temple. 

Around them were the ruins of the Jedi temple, choked with the bloodied bodies scattered carelessly throughout the plaza. Crumbling and cracked stones that had stood for thousands of generations dotted the razed landscape. Around them, the jagged and broken shards of blue and green kyber crystals, crudely hacked through by an instrument not too different from their purpose. To brandish, cut down. To execute. 

Rey gagged, the crude white-hot light nearly blinding her, searing the right side of her face. It was smothering her, and she twisted desperately, but it was only causing Ren to dig his nails further into her scalp.

“Your precious rebellion is dead! You’ve been defeated, now stand down before I slit your Jedi’s throat!”

Ren’s face contorted in a wild sneer, nothing but sick malice radiating off of him in waves. Tenuous as Rey’s grip on the force was, it was overwhelming.

Gray figures danced beyond Ren’s saber. 

“Don’t,” Rey gasped out a second time. She swallowed. A dull hum was starting to settle over her head like a comforting blanket. It was getting harder to focus on her senses. 

Then a shriek: “You sick little bastard, I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

Glazed eyes unclouded as best as they could as Jess’s voice filtered through to her brain. No, no, no, this was all wrong. They were all supposed to run away, far far away from this mess! Leave her be, at least salvage whatever they can, and shuttle to some star system out of reach of this monster that she’d created. 

“One more step,” Ren threatened. His eyes flickered with madness as he licked his lips. He adjusted his grip on the hilt. His eyes narrowed in concentration, deep black pits boring straight into Jess’s. “You’d like to, foolish pilot, don’t you? Whisk your Jedi away from the brink of death, take off and lay low in the edges of the Outer Rim before returning to Dandoran like some holo drama?” he taunted. 

“Don’t let him get to you,” Rey spat over the hum. Of the lightsaber or her imagination, she was not sure. 

Across the scintillating blade, Rey’s eyes met with Jess’s. The remaining handful of rebels, grounded due to the lack of fighter jets, X-wings, or even ratty ski speeders, were weakly holding her back. Jess’s eyes were filled with rage and desperation.

And love.

A tear leaked down the pilot’s cheek. 

“Go,” Rey gasped. “Go, all of you. Run far away, I’ll be alright.” She tried for a smile that ended up as a grimace as pain shot through her consciousness. She ground her teeth together even harder, the pressure building steadily in her head. The force was slowly fading out of her grip.

“I’m not leaving without you.” More tears followed the first, streaking clear paths down Jess’s dirt-streaked face. “I won’t.”

Rey’s gaze flittled around the ragtag group silhouetted against the orange sky. Poe. Maz. Rose. Chewie, D’acy, and BB-8. C’ai and Connix. She desperately tried not to think of the gaping holes where her remaining friends ought to have stood. 

Finn, her dear friend. How she hoped that her goodbyes before marching into battle would only be just in case. How she hoped he had evaded the collapsing crystal cavern, dashed for the closest transport offworld, and flung himself into another life he deserved. He had to be alright. She had to believe it. 

Bloody dribble bubbled around her lips. She didn’t have much time left. But she already survived through her worst under the relentless Jakku sun; no, it couldn’t end like this. Not when she had already fought tooth and nail for a single drop of water, for a bed to weather the night. 

“Ren, let them go,” Rey choked meagerly. 

“You’d trade your life for those not fit for bantha fodder,” Ren sneered in response. “You don’t understand. Scum like them aren’t worth paying the price for. They’ll desert you gladly without hesitation.”

Through her swirling vision, Rey sensed Ren’s eyes flicker up for a second. She ground her teeth together, letting out a groan when nausea filled her to the brim. Ren dug the crossguard against the underside of her chin as though it hadn’t already tore through her capillary vessels and left bloody bruises in their wake. 

The air smelt of ozone. Rey’s pulse pounded out the passing seconds.

Kylo Ren’s brow furrowed in disdain. This was not going the way he’d hoped for. “Leave,” Ren finally ground out, breaking the stalemate. “Get out of my sight, and I’ll promise you all that I will have you killed if you are ever seen again.”

Rey could not look at Jess. Not that she physically could. Even in the biting chill, she was soaked to the bone in her own sweat and blood, and she was trembling. Her breaths were growing more and more ragged, and her focus was slipping. They had to leave now.

Her friends were survivors. They knew what to do when the time came, Rey made sure of it. 

And so the eight rebels, the last of the spark, with anguish in their eyes and hesitance in their movements, slowly backed away. Away from all their dreams and hopes handed down since their parents’ parents time, down the gory front steps of the Jedi palace brought down to its knees, and amist First Order troopers with ready guns, forming a unwavering, deadly pathway. 

“I’m coming back for you, don’t you ever not believe that,” Jess growled before slowly retreating with the rest, several barrels aimed point-blank at her and her friends.

Rey refused to cry after her friends’ retreating backs. Black spots danced across her field of vision as she desperately tried to keep Jess in view, but the bloodied skies and setting sun made it more difficult.

And in a heartbeat, the skies were plunged into darkness. And Rey lost track of the space she last saw Jess occupy. 

“I think it’s about time you hold up your part now,” Ren spat.

Rey drew a shaky breath. She couldn’t feel a thing from her sweaty limbs, her face was white as snow save for the blood smeared across her cheeks, and she was dangerously close to puking or fainting, whichever came first. Her connection with the force was hanging on a hair. She fluttered her tired, scratchy eyes close.

Rey let her aching arm fall to her side.

An avalanche of dirt, boulders, and a thousand razor-sharp crystals thudded around them. The tremor of the hundreds of impacts sent shockwaves through her wobbly knees. Ren sheathed his saber and let go.

Rey too, fell amongst the glittering stars.

**Author's Note:**

> so I like dark things.
> 
> constructive criticism is appreciated.


End file.
